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Just like your favorite USB flash drive, the memory on NASA's Opportunity rover is beginning to degrade after more than a decade on Mars. That's led to bouts of "amnesia" where the rover ends up losing data and constantly resets, both of which make any sort of serious scientific work difficult. NASA's already tried reformatting Opportunity to deal with the problem (just like the Spirit rover five years ago), but after a slight communications blackout over Christmas, the agency is now preparing a software update that will prevent the rover from using a specific memory bank entirely. That'll hopefully put a stop to Opportunity's forgetfulness, since it will only be storing data on properly functioning memory, reports Discovery News.

NASA's ironman Mars rover Opportunity, like your five-year-old PC, is about to get reformatted. Problems have been causing the aging vehicle to reboot and scientists suspect that worn-out cells in the flash memory are to blame. Opportunity's been running for 10 years despite an expected mission life of three months, so even having such problems is a bonus -- and its now-defunct twin, Spirit, had a similar procedure in 2009. Scientists will back up the rover's memory, then send a format command to prevent the bad cells from being accessed. They'll use a slower-than-normal data rate to reinstall the software, since Mars is currently 212 million miles away and the signal will take 11.2 minutes just to reach it. NASA said that Martian winds have kept the rover's solar panels surprisingly clean since it hit the ground rolling in 2004 (see the video below). As the picture above from August 10th shows, it's still doing science and exploration like a boss.

When the Opportunity rover landed on the red planet in 2004, NASA only intended to drive it for about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) within 90 Martian days. But the rover turned out to be a hardy Mars explorer, and on its 10th year on the planet, it has finally broken the record for the longest distance a vehicle has driven outside Earth. The Opportunity has recently accrued 25.01 miles of driving on another world, dethroning Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover, which drove 24.2 miles on the moon in 1973. While that's a huge accomplishment for a vehicle that was never supposed to last for more than year, Mars Exploration Rover Manager John Callas says what truly matters is "not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance." So, what's next for this tough ole machine? Not retirement, that's for sure. NASA's hoping it still has what it takes to drive just a bit further and reach the next major investigation site more than a mile from where it is today.

If you thought current media-darling Curiosity is where all the martian action is right now, think again. Its elder sibling, Opportunity, is still rolling up there too. In fact, it's just wheeled its way into a little page of NASA history: the longest distance one of its vehicles has traveled on a body beyond Earth. A recent short (by our standards) trip of 263 feet took its total to 22.22 miles covered on Mars' surface since landing in January 2004. The previous title holder was a Lunar Rover, part of the Apollo 17 mission over 40 years ago, that covered (if you hadn't guessed) 22.21 miles. Opportunity's not beat the world galaxy record though. That honor goes to the Soviet Lunokhod rover, which totted up a total of 23 lunar-based miles back in 1973. In relative terms, Curiosity's barely stretched its legs.

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marsminipostnasaopportunityroverFri, 17 May 2013 11:44:00 -040021|20573528http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/nasa-abandons-mars-rover-spirit-chooses-to-remember-the-good-ti/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/nasa-abandons-mars-rover-spirit-chooses-to-remember-the-good-ti/http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/25/nasa-abandons-mars-rover-spirit-chooses-to-remember-the-good-ti/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
More than a year after it first lost contact with its Mars rover Spirit, NASA has finally decided to throw in the towel. Yesterday, the agency confirmed that it will end all planned communications with the robot on May 25th, effectively ending the craft's seven-year mission. NASA was hoping that the approaching Martian spring would allow the Spirit to recharge its solar panels and re-establish radio contact, but it now appears that the craft sustained irreparable damage last winter, when it was forced to endure brutally cold temperatures. NASA executive David Lavery, however, says the rover team will remember the Spirit more for its achievements than its slowdemise:

"I think we'll all sit around and have a sip of Guinness and reminisce about when Spirit was a wee small little rover and look back at the accomplishments and successes rover had over its entire lifetime."

So the Spirit's spirit will live on, but what about NASA's mission to Mars? Well, the Opportunity is still in good health and, later this year, will be joined by the next-generation, nuclear-powered rover Curiosity, which will investigate whether or not Mars ever supported life forms. Meanwhile, NASA's network of orbiting spacecraft will continue to passively listen for signals from the Spirit, just in case it miraculously comes back to life. Full PR after the break.

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communicationcraftcratercuriosityCuriosityRoverlaunchlifemarsmars missionmars roverMarsMissionMarsRovermissionNASAnuclear powerNuclearPoweropportunityplanetred planetRedPlanetrobotroverspacespace explorationspacecraftSpaceExplorationspiritwaterWed, 25 May 2011 07:47:00 -040021|19949476http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/robot-hall-of-fame-expands-to-include-da-vinci-terminator-room/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
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Forget those "sporting" Halls of Fame -- the real HOF is right here. Since 2003, the Robot Hall of Fame has been honoring robots and creators at an exhibit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now we're seeing the latest handful of noteworthy creatures take their rightful place in history. For those unaware, the Robot HOF is maintained by Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Science Center, and an international jury of researchers, writers, and designers has just selected five new bots to join the cast: Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the T-800 Terminator (yes, thatTerminator), the Da Vinci surgical system, iRobot's Roomba and 'Huey, Dewey, and Louie' from the 1972 sci-fi flick Silent Running. Could you have imagined a more fitting five? If so, sound off below!

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Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegieMellonUniversityCMUDa VinciDaVincihall of fameHallOfFameIrobotmarsmars roverMarsRovermedicalOpportunityrobotRobot Hall of FameRobotHallOfFamerobotsroombaSpiritsurgerysurgicalsurgical robotSurgicalRobotT-800T-800 TerminatorT-800TerminatorTerminatorMon, 11 May 2009 09:34:00 -040021|1542299http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/03/mars-rovers-mark-off-five-years-of-tireless-servitude-to-humanit/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
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NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars on January 3rd, 2004, with Opportunity joining up 21 days later, and both are going strong five years later. Still no sign of Don Cheadle.

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marsmars roverMarsRoveropportunityspiritSat, 03 Jan 2009 18:07:00 -050021|1417800http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Massively#commentsThe 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.

Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.

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areaeaustinbunchballbusiness-modelsconferencedouble-fusionelectric-sheepelectric-sheep-companygame-mechanicsgdcmetaversenbcneopetsnumedeonopportunitiesopportunityraph-kostersecond-lifesocialsocial-gaming-networksulakesummitthree-ringsvirtual-worldswhyvilleworlds-in-motionzwinkySun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0400319|1261352http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/25/nasa-wont-dampen-exploratory-spirit-of-mars-rovers/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
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Back in November, we knew things weren't looking up for the twin Mars rovers, but it seems that both Spirit and Opportunity will still be doing their respective thangs after a letter foreshadowing their doom was rescinded. Reportedly, the entity was tasked to slash $4 million from the project's budget just yesterday, which would have forced Spirit into hibernation and limited Opportunity's opportunities by mandating that commands be sent up every other day (versus everyday now). As it stands, NASA has issued a confirmation that neither creature will be affected, but given the apparent belt-tightening, we're curious as to whether Scarecrow will still see liftoff next year.

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budgetdeadkillkilledmars roverMarsRovernasaOpportunityspaceSpiritTue, 25 Mar 2008 13:41:00 -040021|1148625http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/28/cuban-claims-that-broadcast-networks-are-missing-hdtv-opportunit/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/28/cuban-claims-that-broadcast-networks-are-missing-hdtv-opportunit/http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/28/cuban-claims-that-broadcast-networks-are-missing-hdtv-opportunit/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#commentsOne of our favorite egomaniacs has once again stepped atop his soapbox, and with relatively awful sentence structure and nearly illegible paragraphs, Mark Cuban has managed to blast broadcast networks for missing the opportunities HDTV presents -- or at least that's what we deciphered. He suggests that while streaming internet video may be the "hot sexy thing" right now, the limited "internet bandwidth available to the home" puts a theoretical cap on the "quality and simplicity of video delivery." Of course, he forgets to mention the bandwidth crisis that every major cable provider out there is now facing, as the aging copper wiring simply can't keep up with the HD explosion in its current state. Nevertheless, he states that "HDTV is the internet video killer," and also says that the ease of receiving HD broadcasts on your television (really?) will prove a more viable outlet for advertisers to use in the long run as HD becomes more and more common in American households. Mr. Cuban (apparently) insinuates that broadcast networks should seize the opportunity that HDTV presents to elicit funding for those crisp, bright HD commercials -- but let's be realistic, we've already learned that HDTV "has no business model," and tapping that FF button happens just as rapidly regardless of whether the plug is in paltry SD or 1080i. Moreover, ole Mark didn't hold back from plugging his own HDNet channel as being a frontrunner in the HD ad revolution, but we'd recommend he figure out a way to cram more HD channels through an antiquated pipeline before complaining over a lack of HD channels to advertise on.